FRESNO, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay women's basketball turned in a solid performance in a hard-fought 65-53 exhibition loss at Division I Fresno State on Friday evening.

After trailing by 13 at halftime, the Pioneers chipped away down the stretch and trailed by just eight with five minutes remaining against a squad expected to contend for the Mountain West Conference title. 

East Bay finished the night at an impressive 43.5 percent shooting, highlighted by a 6-for-13 performance from beyond the arc (46.2 percent). They were just 7-for-15 at the foul line, however. The Pioneer defense tallied 13 steals and forced 20 Bulldog turnovers.

"Fresno has a solid inside presence that we couldn't match," said head coach Suzy Barcomb. "The second quarter got away from us, but I liked how we regrouped in the locker room at halftime. Ultimately, we had too many missed opportunities that we should've been able to capitalize on, and we need to knock down our free throws."

Senior Laci Effenberger led the way for the Pioneers with 13 points, four assists, and three steals in 36 minutes, going 5-for-7 from the field and 3-for-5 from long range. 

Senior newcomer Madison Craig also played 36 minutes and also reached double figures with 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting to go along with three steals. Her five rebounds matched Shannon Bland and Remy Puou for most on the team.

Bland added nine points, going 4-for-9 from the floor as well. Fellow senior Tori Breshers led the team with five steals and equaled Bland with nine points, doing most of her damage at the foul line.

"Our guards rebounded really well tonight," Barcomb commented. "We will need that throughout the year. Tonight was a step in the right director for us as we try to discovery our identity as a team."

After a day off, the Pioneers wrap up their preseason schedule with a road exhibition against  another tough Division I team. CSUEB is set for a 2 p.m. tip-off at Sacramento State on Sunday, Nov. 8.